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Play Store submission — READ_CALL_LOG risk

The Android app declares READ_CALL_LOG, one of Google Play's restricted permissions (the Permissions & APIs Declaration Form policy family). Historically Play has scrutinized this permission hardest for apps that aren't the default phone/SMS handler — which Scryon deliberately isn't. This page exists so the declaration form and store listing are prepared before submission rather than scrambled together after a rejection.

What the app actually does with it​

  • Optional, not required. READ_CALL_LOG is requested once, on the user's first tap of "Transcribe" (see android/permissions.md). If denied, uploads proceed without it — contact name / call direction enrichment is simply skipped.

  • In-app disclosure already exists. Settings → Call log enrichment shows this exact copy before/around the permission request (SettingsTabScreen.kt, CallLogEnrichmentContent):

    "Match each recording against the system call log so we can ship the caller's contact name and call direction with the upload. The backend uses this for nicer speaker labels (USER vs CONTACT). Uploads work fine without it."

  • Never used to read live call state. The app doesn't listen to PhoneStateListener, doesn't intercept calls, and isn't a dialer. It matches existing recordings (already on the device, made by the phone's own call-recorder or a third-party recorder app) against historical call-log entries — see android/overview.md and docs/README.md.

Permissions Declaration Form — draft justification​

Paste (and adapt) into Play Console's declaration form for the Call Log permission group:

Scryon is a call-transcription and analysis app. It does not record calls, is not a dialer, and does not access the call log to place or monitor calls. The app discovers call-recording audio files already present on the device (created by the user's own call-recorder app or the phone manufacturer's built-in recorder) and lets the user manually transcribe them. READ_CALL_LOG is used only to match a discovered recording's timestamp/duration against the user's call history, so the resulting transcript can show the caller's name and call direction (incoming/outgoing) instead of a bare filename. This is optional core functionality: if the permission is denied, the app continues to work and transcribes the recording without that metadata. The permission is requested once, at the point of first use (tapping "Transcribe"), with an in-app explanation shown in Settings at any time. No call-log data is used for any purpose besides this one-time metadata match at upload time, and it is never sold, shared with advertisers, or used for anything unrelated to the user's own uploaded recordings.

Store listing framing — do not say​

Matches the corrections already made on the marketing site (scryon-web) — the app must never be described in terms that imply it records calls or a dialer role:

  • ❌ "Records your calls" / "built-in recorder" / "auto-records"
  • ❌ Anything implying default-dialer or default-SMS-handler status
  • ✅ "Finds the call recordings already on your phone and transcribes them"
  • ✅ "Reads your call log (optional) to label who you spoke with"

Also check before submitting​

  • Data Safety form in Play Console lists Call Logs as collected data, purpose "App functionality," not shared with third parties for advertising, and marked optional/user-controlled.
  • Store listing screenshots don't show a "record" button or recording UI of any kind.
  • Privacy policy URL in the listing points to the live scryon.app/privacy page, which already describes call-log use consistently with the justification above.